Markham Web Content Viewer (JSR 286)

Community Lead Testing Program Update

Provincial regulation requires all municipalities to test drinking water for lead content at the tap level. The Markham Community Lead Testing Program began in December 2007 and successfully completed 8 rounds of sampling until regulatory relief from the lead sampling was granted by the Ministry of Environmental and Climate Change in the fall of 2011.

During the 8 rounds of sampling Markham had taken 872 residential samples, 80 ICI samples and 484 distribution samples and tested for lead.

During the 8 rounds of sampling, Markham has taken 872 residential samples, 80 ICI samples and 484 distribution system samples and tested for lead. These samples were taken on a volunteer basis from locations evenly distributed throughout Markham, targeting the older areas of Markham. In total Markham has sampled almost double the residential samples as required by the Regulation.

Next Steps

Even though regulatory relief from the lead sampling was granted, Markham is still committed to ensuring the highest quality of water. To date, all known lead service lines in Markham, from the municipal watermain up to the property line, have been replaced. However, there may still be private service lines from the property line to the house that are made of lead or contain lead. Similarly, the internal plumbing of a building may also still contain lead pipes. Should a resident suspect that their home has lead plumbing or that they are connected to a lead service line, they may contact the Waterworks Department at 905-475-4862.